Are You Being Creative outside of Photography

In most arts lots of practice and if varied does improve your skills and as in photography you need to take many and I do mean many photographs. I do believe you need to be able to see differently.

Being creative, seeing new possibilities in your mind, imagining, also requires lots of practice. There is no formula, like camera settings, that allows you to press and get the perfect picture. This is something that you need to visualize. By not only being creative with your camera, but in post-processing, painting or drawing, gardens or even creating paths in the woods, you will be able to see more with your camera. This playing around gives more space for your imagination to grow.

My stay in San Miguel de Allende did influence my painting style as I decided to try a series of 6 painting about cacti. I wanted each to be slightly different but about the same subject. 

This was more about playing with colors

This is really a succulent but close enough for me.

Each painting  is a 16” x 20” oil on canvas.

Cacti have a lot of greens and this series was about using different greens with complimentary colors.

Photographs were all used as reference material as there are no cacti here in Ottawa. At least non outdoors that I can paint from.

 This image above still needs some minor changes.

Each are different as I hoped and some seem to work better than others. That's the joy of experimenting. You're not quite sure how it will turn out.

The one thing that became very apparent is that oil colours, at least the saturated mixed, could not be captured with a 12 bit sensor. Non of these photos show the true vibrancy of the real paintings.

This is now something to strive for when printing photos. To somehow still have a bright luminance reflect off the photo. This is mostly about contrast and an easy method to create the allusion is to darken and mute color in surrounding areas. There may also need to be some softening to add a bit of glow effect.

Niels Henriksen

Use ACR Clarity to create shallow DOF

With a few of my previous images I have used the Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) “Clarity” settings to improve the focus (clarity) of the subject and in corollary reduce the detail in the background, which is very similar to using a higher F-stop or shallow DOF.

When experimenting with digital editing techniques, sometimes you realize that you have a new tool of choice that is better than some other method you are using. But with all good things there are limitations and images that are better suited for this technique.

Occasionally, I did use Photoshop blur filter, normally with small settings but I was not fond of the overall effect it created when larger settings (above 10) were used. It is a bit hard to describe but it seems too unnatural even when adding some noise back in.

To demonstrate the effects that can be achieved, I select 2 images to compare using just the blur tool and the blur tool with clarity set at full reduction of –100.

Using the clarity tool is not a one-button-solution as you will need to use layers and a mask to separate the subject from the blurred background. To really see the comparison, click on any of the thumbnail images below, as the originals are 2400 pixels wide.

Normal Clarity set to - 100 Blur only 16 Blur at 16 on clarity layer

Just using the maximum clarity setting has softened the background by removing contrast, which has the effect of leveling or washing out the colours and tones. Better, but still too much detail that is competing for attention with the colours and details of the bird.

The 3rd pane is just using gaussian blur at a setting of 16. Details softened but the contrast in green tones still competes with the bird.

In the 4th pane, I used the same blur setting (16) but applied this to the layer that was set to minimum clarity (-100), which is the best of both effects. Background softened and no highlights jumping out.

Normal Blur only 16 Blur 16 on clarity layer

I used the same settings as the first image but omitted just showing the clarity layer only.

Normal Blur only 16 Blur 16 on clarity layer

With very fine detail not much improvement between versions

When using the clarity setting with or without the blur effect, you may need to adjust the colour saturation, with whole or individual colours, to fine tune to your taste. Certain areas that are now washed out may need to be increased in saturation or lightened or darkened to better match the focal area.

It’s not a perfect or do-all tool but it is something to further help with increasing clarity of subject. It works great in fog scenes such as in this article Winter Fog – Great Photography Weather , and when I used it to soften background with the portrait of the curly-haired kid In the Creativity Article and Candid Portraits .

I will be heading to Demark for almost a couple of weeks this coming weekend as one of my brothers is getting married in the Danish Queens church which is inside the castle.

This is where Crown Prince Frederik and his wife Mary live. Queen Margrethe II will be staying at the castle during this period with her guards.

My brother, whom had been given a medal by the Queen a few years ago for distinguished service, asked permission from the Queen to marry in her private church (Fredricksberg Slotkirke), which she granted.

There is no photography allowed inside the church.

This trip will change my SoFoBoMo plans as I will not be able to do the original theme but now, I might pursue a theme of Copenhagen Bicycles.

Other images


This was taken on the west coast of Denmark and while the sky was heavily overcast there were shafts of light shining through. Since it was taken with a telephoto lens, the kite was not visible within this tight frame, therefore added from another image.

Thanks to all those who have joined this blog lately and a special thanks to those who still come by on a regular basis.

When the readership finally reaches 1,000 members, highest so far has been 885, I will give away 2 singed prints to those readers (random selection) that indicate an interest.

So please continue reading the articles for a little while longer as I am hoping by late summer or early fall to reach that threshold. I don’t actively try to get more members but through our community, it seems to be slowly increasing.

It will most likely be 3-4 weeks before I am able to post again.

Golden Fields of Summer

Lately, I have been busy trying to improve my oil painting skills and I feel I am now starting to see some improvement. I did this image from a photograph. Not mine but a book that is meant for you to practice. I used my own creativity to enhance the glow in the fields by changing from summer yellow to an orange to enhance vibrancy. Also, I changed the gray parts of clouds to purple-red to show reflections from those glowing fields. I


Niels Henriksen

Why is bAd Art preferable to Good Photographs?

First I would like to clarify the title (bAd) I used, as I don’t really mean bad art in the technical sense, even though it may apply sometimes, but I was referring to impressionist or non-realism styles (heavy brush work where very little detail is present except fort the crude brush strokes with colour mixing).

Secondly this is not based on any scientific study but only from my own experiences in dealing with other people, both buyers and artists.

Raw layer (ACR) for sky clarity set to –10 to soften the noise, which always tend to show up in skies and dark and reduce saturation and luminance of blue channel as this was a bit underexposed.
Another RAW layer for land and water parts, increase clarity for more general contrast, increase vibrance; curves up for mid-tones; large increase in luminance of red/orange/yellow/green/aqua and reduce for green and blue; Increase saturation red/orange/yellows/aquas, reduce saturation for greens/blues. This enhances the turquoise transition zone in the water and for the foliage increases the colour contrast in the yellow/greens by making the lighter grasses stand out more.
Curves layer to lighten the sand/rock-face. Added a brownish-orange layer and set this to colour mode with mask for sand rock face (opacity 29%). Darkened border areas of hillside.


I am in the process of painting the above scene and in the end it may really be bad or mediocre artwork. With a bit of luck in picking the right bush techniques and colours I believe that many people will prefer the painting to a printed image in the same size.

I know that if I used the smudged technique to create a painting effect they might even like that version better that the original especially if printed on canvas.

The images in the article are taken from the north tip of Mors Island, which is situated in the middle of Jutland. Denmark is very flat, but occasionally there are these larger hills normally near the sea, which rise a few hundred feet at max. The next 2 images show the adjusted version, followed by the original RAW. Nothing great but I find a quaint charm in the country setting.

Once again 2 RAW layers. One as above to soften sky. The other increase clarity, luminance for red/orange/yellow. Added curve for white shed to lighten white and at the same time the yellow grass in front on the left. Cloned out a mud blemish in front grass and removed a white object in the back field. Added orange layer and set to colour mode and with mask used to tint the corrugated roof of shed. Lightened front of posts and darkened shadow parts.

This is the original RAW image unprocessed.

I wonder if in people’s minds a painting is perceived as a one-off and with a printed photo there can be many copies. I also have a opinion that people tend to think that with a painting a person is creating something new and unique, but with a camera, its the camera that is doing all the work and we are just along for the ride. As photographers we really do understand the work that can go into creating an image. Yes some are gotcha moments but we do plan for season, time of day, camera position. With studio work are not these one-off creations with all the careful placement of subjects and lightening?

I love the rolling texture on these hills.

I know with my own better photographic images I regularly spend 1-2 hours working on the digital file and this doesn’t include that time to plan and go out and acquire the image.

This is about the same time it takes to a one-session painting. Currently from 1-3 hours. So far my photos are better.

I just don’t know what all this really means to us as artists, but I do know that there is still al lot of work ahead to educate the public about our artwork and by that I mean the images hanging on people’s walls .


When the public sees the licensing of images at the ridiculously low prices which give the owner the ability to print many images how can we justify to them why the should spend more for just one printed image.

I do think, that in this is one area were we artistic control. It is important that we preselect the paper that enhances image qualities we are after and also to ensure the ink/archival qualities. We shouldn’t let the customers choose their own paper and ink system. These are a lot like the skills of a painter (medium and canvas). I think a lot can be done with marketing and branding of our work.

Reduced sky brightness and saturation. Darkened the rocks and increased contrast. Increased contrast of boat.

This image has do more with a standard joke we have in our camera club about judges always seeming to say for a water scene, if there was only a red boat it would add more punch. Well no there is lots of punch.

I would love to here your thoughts on this topic or any suggestion you have where we can promote some of our work more in the artistic vane.



This is a small 5”x7” study I did in preparation for the larger 16”x20” final painting I am in the process of completing (first image above). I wanted to check the balance of the various greens and also ensure that the front ridge (longer grasses) was separated from the middle ground foliage.


Niels Henriksen

10 Best Methods to take Great Photographs

In this article, I will list tried and proven techniques to improve the photographic images you are capturing and to keep the momentum going. These are not my original ideas but a compilation of proven methods by many of the great artists and photographers who have shared with their communities.

Each theme below is unique in one perspective but is definitely tied to the other themes and is best when it is an integrated package of practices.

There is no magic solution where you perform a task and voila, you are now a better photographer.

It is only by spending time with your passion and learning about ‘you’ as the artist that improvements will accrue.


Stand in Front of Great Images

This may seem totally obvious, and really there is a lot of truth in this, but the catch is that you must believe that what you are seeing is great.

In the simplest approach, it is somewhat easy, except for travel costs and any restrictions in place within the country of visit, to stand in front of great scenes. We all know those 7 wonders of the world, the seven man-made wonders and any other list of wonders.

While these great views are breath-taking when you are standing in front of them, they have also been photographed into oblivion at least to the sense that we have seen them so often, that we take them for granted. The challenge with these wonders is how to capture some of that grandeur and majesty in a new frame/view that will allow people to see them as new wonders again.

There are all sorts of wonders around us. I love the intricate spirals created by just opening up fiddlehead ferns, the soft translucent leaf-like casing that run down the stem. The challenge is to move this object from the ordinary to the spectacular.

How To Tips
Hire the best guide money can buy (I wish).
Look at travel or geographical magazines.
Look at the winning images from competition sites such as Fred Miranda -FM , dpchallenge , Photo.net , etc.
Take a travel excursion photography course.


Understand Art and Composition

It is important to understand the works of great artists, photographers and sculpturers and how through colour or lack thereof, composition, form and contours they were able to convey the mysteries and majesties around us.

By looking at the works of great artist both past and present and not just those related to photography, you will be able understand how the artists through their chosen medium, were able to convey the emotions and feelings through their use of light and colour.

While looking through art books is useful, there is nothing quite like looking at the original works of art. Books cannot always convey the true colours and subtle tones that are contained in original art works. There is something special about the size and texture that adds to the image. I always find a well-printed image far superior to any screen display unless you are trying to over saturate the colours.



Understand Light

This is probably the most important of all and is also probably the hardest and longest to master. There are so many variables and so many subtleties that the permutations are almost unlimited. Light separates object from the background, provides focus. It can bring objects into clear focus or hide them in the background. Light can lead you in a direction or scatter you about.



Understand how light influences the scene and subject before. This can be hard light, soft light, colour of light and even the absence of light. There is no photograph without the presence of light. Even with night vision imaging the object is emitting infra-red light.

The photograph is all about light. From the intensity, angle, diffuseness and colour they all help to enhance and set apart the subject.

The types of lights all help to tell a story: from the soft wrap-around light of fashion industry; the harder light to give you more rugged manly features; the late evening warm light creating added texture due to the deeper shadows; and specular backlighting giving us the impression of what is there.

The use and control of light is all about creating contrast, which in real terms means creating lit items or edges to help differentiate the subject from the background or other objects.

Light should be a standard tool for your use and not as a preset condition to the shooting environment. What I mean by that is that when you plan to take an image, before you actually get to the location, you should already have in your mind the type of light that would make this image perfect. That way, you will either know which days and times are best to shoot images and when you get to the location, which light modifiers you might need to overcome the lighting limitations present that day.

Light can be natural as with landscapes or fully controlled as in a studio setting. More often than not it should be a mixture of both, where fill flash, reflectors or diffusers are used to provide more control and separation within elements. This should be in your standard kit along with your lens.

The human eye is able to capture an extremely wide dynamic range of tones, some 14+ stops. The Camera and its associated output devices can only record about 6-8 stops. We therefore need light-control to translate real-life scenes into images that are able to be captured by our imaging devices. We can control this blocking or diffusing light, increasing f-stop number for brightly lit parts or some fill light or reflected light for the darker shadows. With High Dynamic Range (HDR) images we now have the ability to control some of the light after images are taken.

How To Tips
When looking at an outdoor photograph, try to determine time of day and lightning conditions.
Look at the angle of shadows and the softness or hardness.
For areas with good texture what angle is the sun.
For Studio photos I recommend Strobist and Lighting Mods .

There is also a good photography reference book – Light Science & Magic, focal press.




Take B&W Photos First

When you have the time, take a digital B&W photo of your image first. This will allow you to better see the elements in the image how the light is creating depth and focus. Colour rarely makes a B&W image better. It only adds more confusion and initial punch.

Also, some images are better in B&W. By looking at the display in B&W first, you may realize that there is an area in the image which you could improve and would not show up now in colour.

How To Tips
Set your digital camera to B&W mode.
If you are a film person, buy a cheap digital with B&W display capability.
Convert some of your favourite Colour image to B&W and compare. You will develop new ways of seeing images.



I am 4th from the right

Hang Out with Artists
Originally I wanted to state ‘Hang around better Photographers’ but in actual fact every artist or photographer has the ability to give you something new, even to the most experienced photographers, while not technical can be a new way of seeing that it is unique in itself.

Occasionally do hang out with photographers who have better skills in areas you are trying to improve.

How To Tips
Join local Camera Club
Join On-line Forums
Join a Facebook local city photography group
Join or organize a photo walk-about
Take a course with a good photographer/artist with a good track record.




Undertake Projects

It is one thing to go out with no real plan in mind and shoot interesting images like flowers, buildings, landscapes etc. Over time, you will improve your ability to take better images of these subjects. To truly progress as an artist you need to have projects that challenge the way you think about your art.

It is only by exploring every facet of a subject and trying to render the feelings and impression in photographic form that you truly come to appreciate how the camera can enhance and accentuate this experience and expressions of life.

I have joined the SoFoBoMO project (Solo Ph(F)otography Book Month) which was started by Paul Butzi and began officially on April 1st and can start as late as April 31 (that’s me). For the one month period, you must have at least 35 images printed in a Book form of your choosing. This for many will just be PDF and some may actually have it printed in a book. The challenges for me are having such a tight timeframe and picking a suitable subject and then layout the pages of the book. If lucky, I may add a few corny words.

How To Tips
Have a good friend give you a project theme.
Explore in nth detail one of your favourite subject in all conditions.
Participate in one of the web projects such as Neil Creek .



Be a Critic

Learn to be a good critic. Learn how to critique the most mundane to the stellar best.
I encourage you to spend time on the many critiquing and critiquing others. The ‘Wow great image’ doesn’t quite cut it as a critique. When you do critique someone’s image spend a fair amount of time with analysis and a detailed review. Discuss what works and what areas might need improvement from your perspective.

Take these skills and objectively critique your own images, preferably after a period of time so that your own memory of the event doesn’t cloud your judgement.

Examine a shoot or series of images to better understand your shooting style, as we are all able to have at least one winner within a set. Better to focus on the images that don’t work as opposed to giving you praise for the few.

Take notes, as these over time will help you identify consistent areas to focus in order to make improvements.

Even a year or 2 later, go back over some of the series you reviewed (don’t look at previous notes) as you will find that you have improved your skills and abilities and you will be able to find new subtle areas for improvement.


How To Tips
Composition
Story
Supporting elements
Balance
Tonal range
Technical
Emotive
Focus (control of DOF or clutter)
Creativity


Learn the Capabilities and Limitations of your Equipment
You can make an image with almost any tool. How about using a stick in the sand while slowly drawing the scene in front of you. This is just a very low ISO but good grain.

A better camera and its associated equipment will not by itself make you take better images. I guess if you still have plastic lens or poor colour rendition these would be good cases.

Learning the capabilities of your camera will help you understand the types of images that are easier to record and understand which settings will need some camera adjustments from shutter to lighting. Make a review of images that did not record well and note the shutter speed, f-stop and lightning conditions so that you can identify the problems, locations and settings.


By understanding your camera, there is more time for creativity and there is less concern with how your camera is going to perform. You now know this and adjust your style as the shoot unfolds.

How To Tips
Slower shutter – tripod
Shutter Lag – pre-focus
High ISO noise - more light
No zoom – learn to position yourself closer


Buy Btter Equipment
By understanding the limitations your are having with your current camera you will now be able to focus on buying better equipment because you are focused on specific goals and problems that you are encountering and not just chasing better technology because its better. If feels great when you do get that new piece of equipment and it delivers exactly what it needs to.

How To Tips
Review your current list of limitations with your equipment.
Review the EXIF data for you images to determine if there are particular lens settings you use.
Read good equipment review forums like dpreview , Seve’s Dgicams ,
Imaging Resource , Megapixel , DC Resource



Rent the equipment, if practical, to confirm it meets your needs.



Listen to the Twinkle in your Eye

This especially applies when you are moving along (Bus, Bike, Car) and out of the corner of your eye you think you saw and interesting image.

Stop and go back, as that brief flash you caught in of the corner of your eye has a good chance of being correct. This is an area that still troubles me as too many times I do regret not going back, but I have made some improvement and I do stop more often. While its not quite 50/50, it’s still high enough with good images that I find going back like a treasure hunt. Occasionally some gems.

Going back another day may be a possibility, but I find more often this doesn’t happen and then the weather has changed. Part of what caught your eye was the light and that’s gone when you leave the scene.


Be Kind
Simply, just be kind to all those you come across in your photographic endeavours. Even those who may be giving you grief. Most people are just working for someone and you never know the day they’ve had. Some people may feel threatened by the camera and even when it’s within your rights to take a photograph, it is a lot better to be friendly and see if it can’t be worked out first.


Share you passion and knowledge with others as it helps to focus and sharpen your skills in the process.


These are just a few of the possible many ways to help you improve your ability to capture great moments.

If you read the writings of many great photographers, you will notice the same tread they all re-iterate and that is that learning never stops and it is important to give back to your community as a method to re-fresh your own skills.

If you have any thoughts on these themes are have tips please do post a comment.



Niels Henriksen

Creativity – What else do you Do?

In the last few articles I have been focusing on how, as photographers, we can keep our creative juices flowing. In part, this is a result that I have been suffering from cabin fever and have not been able to get out as much as I want.

This is only a bad excuse I am telling myself, as I know there are many things I could do within the house. I am not a robot, which means that I have a chance at being creative, but your state of mind is the most important element and it needs to be excited so that your everyday chores are getting in the road of doing what you love to do.



This week the snow has been melting like water going down the drain. I can finally see bare patches of ground and in a few days I should be able to wander outside where I want to, at least with rubber boots.


You may remember a similar image in a previous blog Perth on the Tay River there is a summer image of the bridge.

Art has always been my passion, somehow getting a ‘Real Life’, probably defined by TV shows, has shaped who I am to arrive here at the age of 57. Working, learning, chasing a career, raising a family and spending time with great friends has taken up most of my time.

Creativity, which is something we all have within us and are born with, is not something that needs to be learned, but needs to be practiced and nurtured.


Watercolour – Fall sumacs in pine and birch forest

If you are a photographer, I think it is important that we have other outlets to pursue creative passions. Therefore, I thought I would show some other outlets I have, which help to shape the approach to my photographic artistic endeavours.

Take a sketchpad with you as you wonder about. This could just be at noon hour as you take a break from your job. With sketching, it is a lot easier to control the DOF as you only have to draw the parts you like. Find some interesting but very ordinary compositional elements such as flat rocks on the path with weeds growing out of the cracks as with the pen and ink drawing below.



By only drawing those parts that you find interesting you are helping yourself to see better with a camera. By Sketching it will help you to reduce the multitude of clutter within an image and how to best compose and focus the image to enhance the strong compositional elements.



I find rock and its formation interesting in its texture and patterns but extremely challenging to render into an image. As you can see with the practice page below I was trying different techniques and render round boulders by using either water bottle spray or the sponge to add texture. This is no different than when I use my camera and shoot different angles and light to best bring out the rock detail. This is probably still my largest challenge to render rocks in an interesting manner.




In the practice page below I was just using the brush for paint both round and jagged rock formations. For me rocks are not easy.



In sketching, you definitely don’t want to include every piece of the scene before you and understanding what to include will help in developing your own photographic images. This practice, in seeing less, allows you to focus on your photograph and decide which elements you will enhance with image editing software to bring forward the stronger parts with colour and contrast and to partially remove the other parts with the opposite effects.

An image is made up of many parts and with painting, learning how best to describe these parts is part of the learning experience. In the watercolour practice piece below I wanted to render the distant late fall foliage with just enough texture for the viewer to understand the element but not enough detail for realism. Similar to controlling DOF.


Last year I went to an exhibit of Renoir landscapes and after seeing his images I felt I had to quit my job right there and then (I didn’t) and pursue my painting passions. But I am getting close.

Do take the time to visit galleries as the feelings and understanding of composition, abstractness and colour will all help you to better compose an image with your camera.

If you look at the landscape paintings of the impressionist they are about everyday, almost boring landscapes that they were able to bring to life with their palettes. Studying these masters and others will help you as you travel about to also realize the great beauty in everyday life and with your camera and its multitude of settings best bring it to life in an image.




This is a 2 ½ foot ‘papier maché’ Blue Whale I am making. I used the metallic marbles for eyes and now I just need to paint it to really bring it to life. It was built using chicken wire as a frame, covered with the standard process of thin newspaper strips soaked in a mixture of water, flour and wood glue. I then used the ‘papier maché’ pulp to add the final texture and shape.


The image below ties in the discussion of art and street life. I find the street beggar just as interesting as the images in the window.



He is a gentle Ottawa regular and I did get his permission for image and donated to his living expenses.


There are signs of spring and life emerging after winter as the image below shows with the melting dirty snow and the few leaves of the covered plant struggling to find the sunshine.




At the Luminous Landscape there is a great article Balmoral Mist – Deconstructed on examining a moody photographic image and what make this a great photograph.


Also do check out 25 Ways to Jump Start Photography Inspiration 25 Ways to Jump Start Photography Inspiration




Niels Henriksen

A Photographer’s Adage

Whether a watercolor is inferior to an oil [painting], or whether a drawing, an etching, or a photograph is not as important as either, is inconsequent. To have to despise something in order to respect something else is a sign of impotence. - Paul Strand - Camera Work, 1917